Take a cooking competition in graphic novel format and mix in zany illustrations, alien species and an intergalactic empire. Blend in a reluctant, kindhearted female heroine, top it all off with eco-, exoplanetary, and class politics, and you get The Big Tournament, the first book in the fabulous upper middle grade/YA sci-fi series, Magda: Intergalactic … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Big Tournament
Welcome back to #WorldKidLit Month 2025! Today's post comes to us from Staci Fox. One of the coolest things about running a library these days? Our readers are more connected to the world than ever before. Whether it's through travel, streaming services, international classmates, or even TikTok trends, there's a real appetite for stories that … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: The Moonwind Mysteries
Welcome back to #WorldKidLit month on GLLI. Today's post comes to us from Mairin Raisdana. Published in 2019 and translated in 2023, Roses and Violets is the first book in the Rosenholm fantasy trilogy by Danish author Gry Kappel Jensen, translated by Sharon E. Rhodes. The book is set in Rosewood Boarding School, a school … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Month 2025: Roses & Violets
When Eric, a timid mallard, hears a fellow duck suggest the group of four duck friends go down to the lake, he is alarmed. After all, a monster lives under the water, and it will pull them under. The others laugh at him. They say only fish and frogs live underwater, but Eric is convinced … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Monster in the Lake
Our next post is a conversation between educators about a specialized book club in Portland, Maine, USA. They discuss book club title selection, favorite international mysteries, and the problems with "translation" in a beloved series. Enjoy! - Rebecca Starr My name is Lynn Lawrence-Brown, and I am a Taiwanese-American teacher librarian working at Shrewsbury International … Continue reading #WITMONTH 2025: International Women of Mystery
Pseudotranslation is not a new literary form (Don Quixote, 1605/15, is a notable example), though the term itself is fairly young. One such current novel that’s popular in my library is translator Jennifer Croft’s 2024 mystery, The Extinction of Irena Rey. I very much hope that its readers will move on to Yáng Shuāng-Zǐ’s equally … Continue reading #WITMONTH 2025: Taiwan Travelogue
A playful read-aloud board book for readers age 0-3, Who Ate the Little Bug? is filled with vivid colors and a tactile design of concentric die-cut circles that will entice very young readers into touching and engaging with its text. The concept is simple. Each page introduces an animal that MIGHT have eaten the little … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Who Ate the Little Bug?
When I’m asked for books that are great introductions to the genre of speculative fiction, I often turn to Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler or The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. Women have been writing - and continue to write - exceptional speculative fiction. Reading speculative fiction in translation is a fun … Continue reading #WITMONTH 2025: Speculative Fiction
Twelve-year-old Movits “Mo” Lind is the antithesis of cool. He plays chess, trains his guinea pig, cooks for his younger sister, and mortifies his popular older sister with his geeky interests. His life changes, though, when he agrees to travel with his best friend, Ruben, from their quiet suburb to downtown Stockholm to see Ruben’s … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Biggest Fake in the Universe
Over the past few years, there have been many hits by Mexican and South American women with English translation, particularly horror stories and surreal tales. One author who appeals to horror and speculative fiction readers with a dark side is Agustina Bazterrica. Agustina Bazterrica’s short novels stay with you long after the last sentence. Her … Continue reading #WITMONTH 2025: Latin American Horror
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 